Global AI governance: barriers and pathways forward

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI), combined with a proliferation in use, have led to a newfound emphasis on strengthening the global governance of AI. In this article, we assess the prospects for this aspiration and potential pathways forward. We outline the key global AI governance processes taking place, analyse how first- and second-order cooperation problems in international relations apply to the global governance of AI, and consider how to enhance international cooperation. We argue that a promising foundation of international regimes focused on AI governance is emerging but that the centrality of AI to interstate competition, dysfunctional international institutions, and a lack of agreement over international policy priorities for AI threaten prospects for substantive cooperation. Drawing on lessons from adjacent policy areas, particularly climate governance, we propose strengthening the existing weak “regime complex” of international institutions as the most desirable and realistic path forward for global AI governance. Improving the coordination, capacities, and legitimacy of existing international institutions governing AI would support mutually reinforcing policy change that can address a range of risks associated with these technologies in the most politically legitimate way. We conclude by offering recommendations on how to strengthen the AI regime complex.